iCheapskate: the 40 best free apps for iPhone and iPad

Apps are big business and one of the main reasons for the success of iOS.

Android may shift more units than Apple's mobile platform, but the App Store gets the lion’s share of the best apps, from high-end audio tools through to cutting-edge education offerings.

But what can you get when unwilling to spend anything at all? Actually, loads; as our selection shows, fantastic free iPhone and iPad apps are available for all manner of tasks, from sprucing up photos and composing music through to keeping fit and exploring the world.

Weather Underground: Best free iOS weather app

At the last count, there were about a billion weather apps knocking around. Weather Underground rises above the dross through a clever panel-based approach. If you just want to scan the forecast and rainfall for the coming hour, you’re set. But if you are a weather wonk, desperate to check air quality, UV risk, and what the wind speed will be like at precisely 2pm tomorrow, scroll down a bit and the details will be there. You get widgets. You get customisation. You also, unfortunately, get ads – but they’re at least unobtrusive and can be nuked annually for £1.49.

Triposo: Best free iOS travel guide

There are plenty of travel guides on the App Store, but of the free ones Triposo is our favourite. The app isn’t restricted to just a few major cities - it has information on a wide variety of destinations.

Along with providing suggestions of things to see, Triposo can build a city walk for you, based on the amount of time you want to spend ambling about. Most usefully, it works offline (assuming you download relevant data before you leave), and so won’t chew through your overseas data allowance.

Google Maps: Best free iOS maps app

Apple initially made a mess of its own maps solution, and even today it’s imperfect. The Apple Maps app is pretty good for driving directions, but it’s not great on foot and it remains poor for locating points of interest.

Fortunately, Google’s alternative is excellent, accurate, and also bundles the useful Street View, for checking out routes before a long and unfamiliar journey. Smartly, it’ll also work offline, too, if you download chunks of map to your device.

When roaming about somewhere Citymapper covers, it’s a superb alternative to Google Maps. The app lists transit options and costs, along with telling you how long journeys will be – and how many calories you’ll burn if you put in some legwork yourself, rather than taking the easy option.

Google Translate: best free iOS translation app

Google has a habit of injecting its apps with a little slice of magic, and Google Translate is no exception. The app will happily translate between over 100 languages (and can handle over 50 of those offline), and translate bi-lingual conversations on the fly.

The best bit, though, is when you’re ambling about somewhere, looking at strange signs and menus, and then point Google Translate’s camera at them. In an instant, it translates everything, like a Babel fish for your eyes. And although some live translations can be a little, um, fishy (sorry), it’s a much more efficient way to translate than laboriously tapping out words, or hiring 50 translators to follow you about wherever you go.